Staff Reporters
Embattled ANC secretary general Ace Magashule has rejected calls for him to step down, saying he will only do so if ANC branches tell him to do so.
Addressing hundreds of ANC supporters, who gathered outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court on Friday shortly after he was granted R200 000 bail after he was charged with 20 counts of corruption relating to a R255 million asbestos audit project, Magashule accused his political rivals within the ANC of colluding with law enforcement agencies to remove him from his position as secretary general.
“The ANC belongs to the branches of the ANC. I will respect the voices of the branches. If the branches of the ANC say step aside, I will respect that. If the branches say step aside, I will do so. The branches elected us. Nobody can remove us. I am not a product of the media. I was there during apartheid,” said Magashule- the Big man of Free State politics.
He told his supporters that he would soon expose senior ANC leaders involved in multi-million tender corruption and this could happen as soon as he returns to the dock in February next year.
“Don’t think that when I am quiet, am quiet. You say Ace is corrupt? I will show you corruption at the right time. It’s good that there is a charge [against me] now. I will say you my brother, you my sister have been making lot of noise, come to the box [the dock]. They [ANC leaders] received [dodgy] money and they are still receiving money even today. The state organs checked my accounts. They checked my children’s accounts, they think I don’t know. Don’t think I am stupid when I am keeping quiet. I talk in meetings of the ANC. I say in meetings of the ANC that [radical] party resolutions of the ANC will be implemented,” said Magashule, implying that he was targeted because of his firm support for the radical resolutions of the ANC such as land expropriation without compensation and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank.
Magashule condemned the burning of t-shirts- bearing ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s face.
“Don’t ever try to burn the t-shirt of the ANC president. That t-shirt does not belong to the president, it does not belong to me or any individual, but to the ANC. Never do that,” said Magashule. Earlier, some ANC members burnt ANC t-shirts calling for the resignation of Ramaphosa, claiming he was behind the charges against Magashule
This was the first instance since former President Jacob Zuma was charged with corruption that a member of the ANC Top Six actually faces charges in court. And the scenes outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court drew parallels to the JZ show few years ago.
The first problem that the case against Magashule presents for the ANC is enforcing its “step aside” rule, which is supposed to be a resolution of the party affirmed by its highest decision making structure outside conference, the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The ANC has already stated that it does not expect Magashule to step aside in the wake of his
appearance, whatever its outcome. The ANC has accepted that the rule is hard to legally enforce and that is probably because it’s poorly crafted to cover leaders, office bearers and party members on virtually any charge.brought
For example, does the rule apply to some branch chairperson is Kakamas who is accused of stealing a bag of maize or does it apply to a staunch, prominent card carrying member who happens to be a teacher and is accused of rape by a learner? Who and what does it cover?
The ANC should probably apply the rule to office bearers at all levels and consider the nature and gravity of the offence where the offender has appeared in court. For instance the R 50 000 bail given to former Ethekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, accused of trying to defraud her own municipality of R241 million suggests that the court deems the matter serious enough that she should be asked to step aside and not be eligible for elevation of the provincial legislature, as the ANC in that province did, until the matter is resolved. Yet the ANC in Kwa Zulu Natal defied the rule again in allowing their strongman Mike Mabuyakhulu to rerun to work in spite of a cloud hanging over him.
The other danger with this rule is that around key election times, contestant can have charges
brought against them to force them to stand aside, only to have charges withdrawn or cases collapse after elections have passed.
The case also brings the ANC the headache of “ANC v ANC” when party factions openly oppose each other. Magashule and the Top 6 issued clear instruction of no protests in party regalia outside court in support of Magashule. Yet For example, Carl Niehaus organised a night vigil at Bloemfontein Loch Logan Park Rose Garden ahead of the spectacle. This would be an open defiance of a clear instruction. If that is the case, leadership must act and it needs to be more than a reprimand.
Magashule’s case was postponed to February next year.
Additional reporting by Thebe Mabanga.
Embattled ANC secretary general Ace Magashule has rejected calls for him to step down, saying he will only do so if ANC branches tell him to do so.
Addressing hundreds of ANC supporters, who gathered outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court on Friday shortly after he was granted R200 000 bail after he was charged with 20 counts of corruption relating to a R255 million asbestos audit project, Magashule accused his political rivals within the ANC of colluding with law enforcement agencies to remove him from his position as secretary general.
“The ANC belongs to the branches of the ANC. I will respect the voices of the branches. If the branches of the ANC say step aside, I will respect that. If the branches say step aside, I will do so. The branches elected us. Nobody can remove us. I am not a product of the media. I was there during apartheid,” said Magashule- the Big man of Free State politics.
He told his supporters that he would soon expose senior ANC leaders involved in multi-million tender corruption and this could happen as soon as he returns to the dock in February next year.
“Don’t think that when I am quiet, am quiet. You say Ace is corrupt? I will show you corruption at the right time. It’s good that there is a charge [against me] now. I will say you my brother, you my sister have been making lot of noise, come to the box [the dock]. They [ANC leaders] received [dodgy] money and they are still receiving money even today. The state organs checked my accounts. They checked my children’s accounts, they think I don’t know. Don’t think I am stupid when I am keeping quiet. I talk in meetings of the ANC. I say in meetings of the ANC that [radical] party resolutions of the ANC will be implemented,” said Magashule, implying that he was targeted because of his firm support for the radical resolutions of the ANC such as land expropriation without compensation and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank.
Magashule condemned the burning of t-shirts- bearing ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s face.
“Don’t ever try to burn the t-shirt of the ANC president. That t-shirt does not belong to the president, it does not belong to me or any individual, but to the ANC. Never do that,” said Magashule. Earlier, some ANC members burnt ANC t-shirts calling for the resignation of Ramaphosa, claiming he was behind the charges against Magashule
This was the first instance since former President Jacob Zuma was charged with corruption that a member of the ANC Top Six actually faces charges in court. And the scenes outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court drew parallels to the JZ show few years ago.
The first problem that the case against Magashule presents for the ANC is enforcing its “step aside” rule, which is supposed to be a resolution of the party affirmed by its highest decision making structure outside conference, the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The ANC has already stated that it does not expect Magashule to step aside in the wake of his
appearance, whatever its outcome. The ANC has accepted that the rule is hard to legally enforce and that is probably because it’s poorly crafted to cover leaders, office bearers and party members on virtually any charge.brought
For example, does the rule apply to some branch chairperson is Kakamas who is accused of stealing a bag of maize or does it apply to a staunch, prominent card carrying member who happens to be a teacher and is accused of rape by a learner? Who and what does it cover?
The ANC should probably apply the rule to office bearers at all levels and consider the nature and gravity of the offence where the offender has appeared in court. For instance the R 50 000 bail given to former Ethekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, accused of trying to defraud her own municipality of R241 million suggests that the court deems the matter serious enough that she should be asked to step aside and not be eligible for elevation of the provincial legislature, as the ANC in that province did, until the matter is resolved. Yet the ANC in Kwa Zulu Natal defied the rule again in allowing their strongman Mike Mabuyakhulu to rerun to work in spite of a cloud hanging over him.
The other danger with this rule is that around key election times, contestant can have charges
brought against them to force them to stand aside, only to have charges withdrawn or cases collapse after elections have passed.
The case also brings the ANC the headache of “ANC v ANC” when party factions openly oppose each other. Magashule and the Top 6 issued clear instruction of no protests in party regalia outside court in support of Magashule. Yet For example, Carl Niehaus organised a night vigil at Bloemfontein Loch Logan Park Rose Garden ahead of the spectacle. This would be an open defiance of a clear instruction. If that is the case, leadership must act and it needs to be more than a reprimand.
Magashule’s case was postponed to February next year.
Additional reporting by Thebe Mabanga.
